San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-09-01
ROCK OF GIBRALTAR.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND
ITS DEFENSES.

The Natural Caverns of the Rock" and
Its System of Tunneied Charlottesville
Finest Garrison In the worId-Noted
sIeges.
There is no port on the European station
hailed with more delight by the crew Of an
American man Of war than is Gibraltar Let
100 tars go over the side on liberty with
months pay in their monk bags and depend
On it the Scotch Highlanders will soon be
| singing yankee Doodle" to the tune set by
the jolliest crowd Of tars that ever stepped
| ashore.
Though Gibraltar has not been subjected
to the attacks of war vessels OF the present
day, still it has withstood a siege before
which no other fortress in the world could
have held out Since that famous siege Of
the last century everything has been done to
make the place, humanity speaking, impreg-
| nable.
The crock" itself Is not more than seven
| miles in circumference, and its elevation
above the sea, at the highest point, does not
| exceed 400 feet The town is situated on
the western slope, for on all other sides the
ascent is very precipitous. The isthmus
| which connects Gibraltar with the mainland
| Is a little more than a mile wide, and IL is on
| this isthmus that the famous neutral ground
| Is marked off by the two parallel rows Of
| English and Spanish sentry boxes. Apart
| from the position of the crock" it is greatly
| strengthened by the presence of remarkable
natural caverns with which it is perforated.
| These caverns are all difficult of access. The
largest, st. Michael's, has hall hung with
stalactites reaching from roof TO floor Its
entrance is 900 feet above the level OF the
sea, and it is connected with other caverns
beneath it Of unknown depth. No doubt the
presence of these natural caver,s suggested
| the idea TO the British Of excavat ng and tun-
neling the "rock."
GALLERIES AND FLATS"
system of galleries has been cut facing
the harbor and neutral ground at an enor-
nous expense. Much of this work was car
ried on by prisoners. At intervals of twelve
yards ports have been cut for guns, and some
Of the ordnance mounted is Of very heavy
caliber. The galleries are tunneled i'm tiers,
| and several extend to distance Of two or
three miles, being wide enough to admit Of
the OK carts of the fort. On the western slope
there are many level spots, but the "bats" Of
Gibraltar are near the top Of the "rock." 1t
Is here that the infantry Is drilled and exer-
cised. The garrison consists Of nearly 5000
men, and it has always been the custom at
the Horse guards in London, to send out a
great many Highlanders to Gibraltar, though
| they do not compose the whole force. This
| garrison is one Of the hardest drilled In the
British service, and the men are usually the
pick Of the army. The feeling of pride will
allow only the flower Of the British troops to
| hold Gibraltar. Report has it that Gen.
Grant considered this garrison the finest body
Of men of any he saw during his tour "around
| the world"
There are a great number of Moors and
Jews here besides the English, and not a few
| Spaniards. All foreigners visiting the town
are required to take out permits de sejour,
| and must find bondsmen TO go security for
their good behavior during the ten, fifteen or
twenty days for which the permit is made
out. However, this may be renewed after
the expiration Of the time limit The au-
thorities prevent as much as possible any ac-
| QUESTION in the way of new residents. This
Is to the town only. Inside the limits of the
barracks no strangers are admitted after
nightfall. The officers, however, may intro
duce a friend for a period of a month, but
nre held in strict account for all his actions
Justice is administered according to the laws
of England but there is prevailing spirit of
the military court martial in all the proceed
ngs of the court. The air militaire is incul-
Gated in all pertaining to the crock" and is
more than an apparent seeming.
THE WATER SUPPLY.
The majority of the houses in the town are
| built with fiat tops, which enable the inhabi-
tants TO secure considerable amount Of
rain water. Tanks are built under the
| buildings and are fitted with drains leading
| from the roofs. 1t is the water supply which
has always proved of vital importance to
| Gibraltar, but the authorities have finally
mastered the question, and the "rock" is now
| well provided with good water. Two large
tanks, one containing 1900 and the other
| IL 900 gallons, are kept constantly full with
which to supply naval vessels.
Gibraltar stands to-day the key to the
Mediterranean, and is the center of that line
| Of fortresses which connect Great Britain
with those enormous fields Of wealth in the
East Indies. The stragetic Importance of the
position was observed by the Saracens as far
back as III A. D., and under a leader named
Lorik fen Leyad landed and fortified the
| place in that year. During period Of 700
years from its first acquisition by the Sara
Gems Gibraltar was held either by Moors or
between these two races In 1462 Spanish
force under the Duke Of Medina Sidonia
wrested the fortress from the Moors, and so
strengthened it as to be considered impregna-
| bic But in 1904 the combined English and
Dutch feet, under Sir George Rock and the
| Prince of Hesse- Darmstadt, took the "rockn
from the Spaniards and held it until 1913,
| when it was confirmed to Great Britain by
the treaty of Utrecht The Spaniards would
not let Gibraltar go without another struggle
and attacked the garrison in l727; but a ces-
Sation of hOStilities soon came about on the
signing Of prelininaries of peace between
| Spain and England.
The noted siege, which lasted from 1779 to
1885, marks one of the greatest annals in
British military history, and never did troops
| win greater renown than the famous garrison
| hat held Gibraltar against the combined
| forces of France and Spain. All the imple
ments Of modern warfare were used by the
besiegers, but the crock" proved impregna-
Bile Capt. DTinkwater, of the British army,
| Is authority for stating that 600 guns were
brought to bear by the allies, and that in the
| outer harbor were anchored forty seven ships
| Of the line, carrying the ensigns Of France
and Spain.
British troops may never again be called
| upon to hold Gibraltar as they did in 1850,
but the garrison of to-day is ever prepared to
lefend the famous crock" against the armies
md fleets of the world.-.San Francisco
| Chronicle
Made Famous by a Poker Game.
| A f,ry ,,,;las S,,,th 90 tb1 L.